US probes crypto platforms over alleged Iranian sanctions evasion

US investigators have launched an investigation to identify crypto platforms that have facilitated sanctions evasion by Iranian officials seeking to move money abroad, access hard currency, or procure goods.

The US has long-standing financial sanctions on Iran aimed at limiting Tehran’s access to the global financial system. 

These sanctions target Iranian government entities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and sectors like oil and finance. They also bar Americans and companies from providing services that could help Iran move money or purchase goods internationally.

Iran’s sanctions push the country into decentralized markets

Iran has also faced a series of crises over the past year, including the 12-day war with Israel as well as American strikes on its nuclear facilities. A recent wave of anti-government protests and the Tehran government’s deadly crackdown have caused threats of further military action from Trump as well as fresh scrutiny of Iranian finances.

Last month, Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran, including on 18 people it accused of being part of shadow-banking networks of sanctioned Iranian financial institutions.

Iran is no longer connected to the dollar-based system, and its rial has lost significant value very quickly. Therefore, its best alternative is crypto. Even with its anonymity, every transaction is recorded on a public ledger. By analyzing these transactions, the US can trace funds linked to Iranian entities or banned parties.

Ari Redbord, global head of policy at US-based blockchain analysis company TRM Labs, revealed the investigation, stating that he had direct knowledge of the Treasury’s concerns. However, he did not identify any crypto platforms under investigation or their locations.

50% of Iran’s volumes last year were linked to Iran’s IRGC

TRM Labs estimates that around $10 billion of crypto activity occurred in Iran last year, down from $11.4 billion in 2024. Chainalysis, another US-based blockchain analysis company, stated that Iranian wallets received a record $7.8 billion in 2025, up from $7.4 billion in 2024 and $3.17 billion in 2023.

Tom Keatinge, director of the Centre for Finance and Security at UK think-tank the Royal United Services Institute, stated, “The harder one squeezes the Iranian economy, the more one better be ready to deal with the consequences, one of which is the expanding use of crypto.” 

As reported by Cryptopolitan, Elliptic said last month that the Central Bank of Iran had acquired at least $507 million in USDT. However, Tether said it maintained a “zero-tolerance policy toward the criminal use of our tokens” and worked closely with law enforcement agencies to identify and freeze assets linked to illegal activity.

According to experts, crypto wallet addresses are recorded on the blockchain as a string of letters and numbers. This makes it difficult to establish who is behind transactions or their locations. 

Researchers estimate crypto activity using data sources, including web traffic and wallet addresses linked to sanctioned entities in the US and Israel.

Therefore, gaining a complete picture of Iran’s crypto usage is near impossible. Andrew Fierman, Chainalysis’s head of national security intelligence, said that when a crypto wallet is publicly identified, owners can easily create new ones to use instead, complicating the task of US authorities.

“It requires significant resources to do the kind of blockchain tracing and so on, to issue the sanctions […[ It’s the ultimate high-speed whack-a-mole game,” he added.

Iranian citizens move their crypto assets to international exchanges

Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, revealed that about 15 million people in Iran had some exposure to or used crypto assets. It said it had 11 million customers, with the majority of activity from retail and smaller investors. 

“For many users, crypto primarily functions as a store of value in response to the continued depreciation of the local currency,” Nobitex said in an email.

However, Singapore-based blockchain researcher Nansen said some Iranians had withdrawn funds from Nobitex in 2025, and that balances of major cryptocurrencies had declined sharply from a mid-year peak.  Nansen also said it had identified hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of crypto transferred from Nobitex to international cryptocurrency exchanges.

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